Robert Tolan v. Jeffrey Cotton, 713 F.3d 299

Late 2008 in Bellaire, Texas, police suspect a stolen vehicle and surveil Robbie Tolan, Anthony Cooper, and Tolans on their front porch during a chaotic, dimly lit moment.
Officer Edwards mistakenly identifies Robbie’s Nissan as stolen; he orders Robbie and Cooper to the ground after drawn weapons and proclaims the vehicle stolen.
Robbie and Cooper comply only after Marian and Bobby Tolans intervene; Cotton arrives, believing Edwards is in danger, and takes position on scene.
Cotton moves Marian toward the garage to enable searching the suspects; Robbie, alarmed by the confrontation, rises and confronts Cotton after seeing his mother pushed aside.
Cotton shoots Robbie three times, striking him in the chest within about 32 seconds of Cotton’s arrival; Robbie is unarmed at the time of the shooting.
Robbie and Marian Tolan, and Anthony Cooper sue under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force and alleged policy/racial-profiling claims; Cotton and Edwards move for summary judgment based on qualified immunity; district court grants summary judgment for the officers pursuant to Rule 54(b).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Cotton’s deadly force was objectively reasonable	Tolan argues genuine disputes exist on reasonableness	Cotton argues objective reasonableness under on-scene perspective supports immunity	Cotton entitled to qualified immunity; no genuine dispute on reasonableness
Whether Marian Tolan’s claim of excessive force was objectively reasonable	Marian argues his conduct was excessive and unreasonable	Cotton contends actions were reasonable and lawful under the circumstances	Marian not entitled to § 1983 triable issue; qualified immunity affirmed

Deville v. Marcantel, 567 F.3d 156 (5th Cir. 2009) (right to use deadly force when immediate threat exists)
Ontiveros v. City of Rosenberg, 564 F.3d 379 (5th Cir. 2009) (on-scene assessment of threat and reasonable actions)
Young v. City of Killeen, 775 F.2d 1349 (5th Cir. 1985) (on-scene threat assessment and use of force)
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (objective reasonableness standard for excessive force)
Garner v. United States, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) (deadly force may be used when there is probable cause to believe serious harm)
Brumfield v. Hollins, 551 F.3d 322 (5th Cir. 2008) (qualified immunity requires objective reasonableness and clearly established law)
Poole v. City of Shreveport, 691 F.3d 624 (5th Cir. 2012) (two-prong qualified-immunity analysis; clearly established law must be considered)
Reichle v. Howards, 132 S. Ct. 2088 (2012) (courts reluctant to decide constitutional questions when not necessary)
Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (2009) (permits addressing second prong first in qualified immunity)
Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 131 S. Ct. 2074 (2011) (clearly established law requires a right to be clearly established to defeat immunity)